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Nogales officer files suit over 2010 Taser incident

A Nogales police officer who claims his former sergeant used a
Taser on his genitals last February has filed a federal lawsuit
against the Police Department and former sergeant.

According to the lawsuit, Sgt. Sergio Bon "aggressively" pushed
a clipboard holding citations at Officer Pedro Molera when Molera
placed the clipboard on Bon's desk on Feb. 8, 2010. Bon then
unholstered his Taser, removed the front cartridge and pointed it
at Molera, the lawsuit states.

When Molera responded "Are you going to use it? Go ahead," Bon
placed it on Molera's penis over his clothes and squeezed the
trigger for a "couple of seconds," the lawsuit states.

Molera and another officer went into the restroom immediately
and noticed excessive redness, the lawsuit states.

Molera went home because of the "extreme emotional distress"
without reporting the incident, the lawsuit states.

After hearing other officers joking about the incident the next
day, Molera told a lieutenant about it and other instances in which
Bon had pointed the Taser at him.

Police Chief Jeffrey Kirkham and other police officials named in
the lawsuit "knew or should have known of such incidents and failed
to take appropriate measures to supervise and train its superior
officers so as to protect the officers assigned to defendant Bon,"
the lawsuit states.

Molera's attorney, Natasha Wrae, is seeking unspecified damages
on behalf of her client, who has been an officer for about 10
years.

Kirkham previously confirmed Bon, an 18-year veteran, resigned
as a result of the incident, and acknowledged Bon would likely have
been terminated had he not submitted his resignation. He would not
comment Tuesday. Attorneys for the city were unavailable.